Warlords of the Wasteland is the first in a series of Heroes
Chronicles games based on Heroes of Might and Magic III, the
popular turn-based fantasy-themed strategy game from 3DO. There
are a total of four Heroes Chronicles titles in the collection and
although 3DO claims each game can be played on its own and in
no particular order, Warlords of the Wasteland acts as the prequel
of the bunch by introducing us to the star of the series, Tarnum,
and providing a little background to the forthcoming plot that will
unravel as you progress through each game. The first two titles in
the series, Warlords of the Wasteland and Conquest of the
Underworld, were released at the same time, but since Warlords of
the Wasteland is supposed to lead off, we'll start with a review of
it.

Heroes Chronicles tells the tale of a young barbarian, Tarnum. The
opening cinematic reveals to us that upon becoming King, Tarnum
is slain. However, the mighty barbarian is deemed unworthy to
enter Paradise by the Ancestors and is reincarnated in order to
redeem himself. Tarnum must earn a reprieve from the gods by
completing a succession of quests, adventures that are recorded in
the Heroes Chronicles. This brings us to the Warlords of the
Wasteland, which tells the tale of Tarnum's return to his homeland,
as he discovers the heritage behind his people and takes arm
against the evil spellcasters who currently rule the land.

Warlords of the Wasteland, and each subsequent game in the
series, features eight linked scenarios. Although the scenarios do
an excellent job advancing the storyline, they offer no
improvements over Heroes of Might and Magic III. Everything from
sound effects to the game mechanics has been recycled, providing
little more than an expansion pack feel to the game. Fans of Might
and Magic III will immediately realize that Heroes Chronicles
almost feels like a trimmed down version of Heroes of Might and
Magic III, perhaps catering to beginners. In fact, there's a training
scenario that guides gamers through the basics of building and
exploration. The rest of the scenarios are nicely designed and
include the usual resource management, town building and
exploration. In order to help maintain a sense of plot, Tarnum, and
any number of the remaining heroes from one scenario, will
advance to the next scenario, minus their artifacts and units.

The first problem with Warlords of the Wasteland is the restrictions
that are placed throughout the game. In order to stay consistent
with the plot, a number of units and town types have been
trimmed from the product. As Tarnum, you'll only have access to
goblins, orcs, wolf-riders, Cyclopes and behemoths in your towns.
Opposing units often consist of wizards' units including gremlins,
golems and giants. While swamp and castle units do make an
appearance or two during the game, the rest of the town types and
units won't make their presence felt until future Heroes Chronicles.
What this does is make the scenarios rather repetitive
due to the lack of variety. The storyline is all that's left to keep you
playing through each scenario and it just didn't seem worth it since
much of the story is told using text boxes that pop up throughout each
scenario. Cinematics would have helped in this respect
tremendously.

The second problem with Warlords of the Wasteland is the lack of
anything new to the world of Heroes of Might and Magic. There are
no unique units, no improved visuals and all of the sound effects
remain the same. Warlords of the Wasteland also lacks a map
editor and multiplayer options. The replay value plummets for fans
of Heroes of Might and Magic and even newcomers to the series.
Once you completed the eight-pack of scenarios, there's absolutely
no reason to load this title up again.

Warlords of the Wasteland comes with a budget price tag of $20.
Of course, this is only the first in the series, so if you wish to
partake in the rest of Tarnum's adventures, it'll cost you $80 in
total. That's 32 scenarios in all, which doesn't quite add up in the
end considering you could create this kind of package using the
Heroes of Might and Magic scenario editor. Heroes Chronicles
plays out like a series of short stories, but that doesn't mean you
can't introduce new elements to the mix. It's because of this, that I
can't recommend Heroes Chronicles to fans of Heroes of Might &
Magic. Even if you're new to the series, you're better off picking up
Heroes of Might and Magic III, or one of it's expansion packs,
rather than this shady product.